Microsoft to offer new free training courses for Azure

Gavriella Schuster, the CVP for the Worldwide Partner Group has taken to the Microsoft Partner Blog to announce that Microsoft will soon offer new free training courses for Azure. The courses come in the ongoing age of digital transformation and are designed to help partners respond to the surging demand, realize positive returns, and grow their market opportunity.

According to Shuster, the courses will be available in a self-paced, interactive MOOC ( Massively Open Online Course) learning environment, and will come with new opportunities for Azure certification at a deep discount. Initially, six courses will be available starting today, and 6 more will be added in the coming weeks, with more in the coming months. The courses are designed so technology professionals can start with Azure Fundamentals, and also so multi-cloud specialists can start with Azure for AWS Experts courses, or dive right into more specific courses like Azure Storage or Azure Networks.

By increasing investment in training existing workforces and supporting the next generation of computer science professionals, Microsoft believes that the courses will bridge the skills gap and will support buisness growth. In fact, the company has invested by including the Microsoft Virtual Academy, the Cloud + Enterprise University Boot Camps, and the Microsoft Professional Program.

Azure Skills exams

The catalog of Massively Open Online Courses is available here, for free, and each course includes a digital certificate of completion which can be shared on LinkedIn. As extra, Schuster also points out that Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) exams are another way to show recognized designation of cloud capability. A single exam and one retake is available in practice test form for $99, and three exams, retakes, and practice tests are also available for the discounted price of $279 (down from $1,287)